SOC363: 4. Gender + Marital Status Flashcards

1
Q

Bit of History

A
Gove and Tudor (1972) : Sex-Role Theory
Isolation, Repetition, Boredom, Low Status in the
“Housewife” Role
u Dohrenwend (~1980): But there are no gender differences (in disorder) to explain….
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2
Q

Bit of History

A

Aneshensel et al. (1991):
Ø Can’t cite gender differences from research focusing on
depression or anxiety (distress) only.
Ø Need to study multiple outcomes to detect whether responses
to stress are “gendered” — flow through gendered ways of
responding.

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3
Q

Bit of History

A

Kessler (1994): the gender trade-off clear, but limited in scope.
Ø Not enough disorders measured
u By the NCS-R, however…..

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4
Q

Bit of History

A

-

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5
Q

Gender Patterns Revisited

A

classic trade-off in mental health problems by gender
— netting to zero overall.
But co-exists with a literature on distress, showing
distress higher in women…
…suggesting the same as higher rates of mood / anxiety
disorders

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6
Q

Gender Patterns Revisited

A

-

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7
Q

Differences: Real or Artifact?

A

Artifact – gender differences due to the way in which problems defined and measured.
Real —- gender differences due to real differences in life
experiences, socialization, social status, and exposures.

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8
Q

Differences: Real or Artifact?

A

-

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9
Q

Differences: Real or Artifact?

A

Note: it can’t be both
Why? Because those interpretation are in tension – the more of one less the other is possible.
Could be a perfect blend of the two, but not obviously likely

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10
Q

Artifactual Interpretations of

Gender Difference

A

Artifactual measurement hypothesis has been assessed

repeatedly for over 40 years — to no avail.

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11
Q

Artifactual Interpretations of

Gender Difference

A
Artifactual methods hypotheses:
Diffs in gender willingness to admit undesirable
symptoms
Gender differences in expressiveness
Content of scales is gender-biased.
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12
Q

Artifactual Interpretations of

Gender Difference

A

Best current conclusion:
difference is real, and due to differences in levels of
demands (stress) across roles for women vs. men

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13
Q

Some Questions about the

Trade-Off Interpretation

A

Are distress and drinking , internalizing and externalizing,
“comparable” as mental health outcomes? How would
one decide this?
Same causes in each gender?
Stress vs. sociability
Gender-specific channeling of expression of emotions

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14
Q

Some Questions about the

Trade-Off Interpretation

A

Beyond the distress / drinking trade-off:
Now includes differences in anger, conduct problems
Makes an interpretation of functionally equivalent but
distinct responses easier.
How can one explain this pattern with a “perfect balance”
of different elements… (Rosenfield tries admirably)?

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15
Q

Some Questions about the

Trade-Off Interpretation

A

-

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16
Q

Explanations

A

The explanation has to fit the finding….
u The difficulty — a balanced mix of positive and negative
mental-health related characteristics, but…
u No one has really added up all of the issues discussed in
this chapter to see if this mix of positively and negatively
valued gender characteristics and experiences do balance
out.

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17
Q

Explanations

A

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18
Q

Explanations

A

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19
Q

Explanations

A

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20
Q

Explanations

A

-

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21
Q

Fundamental Themes

A

Connectedness vs. Independence
Ø Stern questions the “ideals” of development theory,
targeting independence as the goal – male-centric
view of what is “healthy” or “natural.”
Ø Opposite view is that connectedness indicates health,
not independence.
Ø Chodorow (1978) — it is the extremes that are
problematic — consistent with the pattern.

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22
Q

Fundamental Themes

A

-

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23
Q

Fundamental Themes

A

-

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24
Q

Origins

A

u The rise of capitalism:
Ø Differential valuation of public and private roles
Ø Public roles involve the power of financial exchange…

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25
Q

Origins

A

Role Complementarity (Gove, Sex Role Theory):
Ø Gender differences due mainly to differences among married
people.
“housewife” role is unfulfilling, low prestige, unstructured,
repetitive, isolating, and not valued.
traditional role differences encourage mental health differences due to time latitude and rumination.

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26
Q

Origins

A
After massive social changes due to women’s entry into the
labour force (1960’s-1980’s)
Working women suffer more burdens in total across roles and thus have more stressful lives in total across all roles: work-family conflict.
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27
Q

Origins

A

Note: both designed to explain a difference that some say does not exist. What is missing…?

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28
Q

Elements of a Gendered

Explanation

A

Burden of domestic labor still falls to women… while…

large majority also work for pay outside the home.

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29
Q

Elements of a Gendered

Explanation

A

Work-family conflict occurs more clearly for women: men see their domestic role as more centered at work, women feel more conflicting responsibilities — role strain (chronic stress)

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30
Q

Elements of a Gendered

Explanation

A

Connectedness: women’s networks have a plus, but also a minus - awareness of other’s troubles (The Cost of Caring). Connectedness and empathy more related to internalizing; independence to externalizing problems.

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31
Q

Elements of a Gendered

Explanation

A

Socioeconomic differences: on average
Socialized differences in resources: women more
support, but lower sense of control or power in social relations
Discrimination: chronic stressor

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32
Q

What’s the Score on Mental

Health Disadvantage?

A

Most of arguments suggest worse mental health for women, not gender balance

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33
Q

Adding Up the Trade-Off

A

Negative inputs for women, and Positive inputs (things that lead to positive reinforcement) for men.
Does not really explain the finding.

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34
Q

Adding Up the Trade-Off

A

Questions…
What unqualified positive inputs for women that save them?
What negative inputs for men that bring them down?

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35
Q

Elements..

A

Styles of selfhood at the core..
Rosenfield’s “Self-Salience Theory”
Women trained to put others first over self; men the
opposite.

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36
Q

Elements..

A

first could mean self devalued, while self first
could lead to more aggression, anger + disruptive
behavior in face of trouble

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37
Q

Elements..

A

Related to gendered styles of coping: problem-based for
men, emotion-based for women
Consistent with pattern of findings

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38
Q

Another Alternative

A

“Feeling Rules” of Gender…
Norms for expressing emotion gendered and channel
“acceptable” responses — “feeling rules”.
Constrained choices for each gender in responding to their problems.

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39
Q

Another Alternative

A

Male behavior associated with assertiveness, female with
nurturing and caring – defines “region” responses should
occur in
Feeling norms channel responses towards internalizing for
women, externalizing for men.

40
Q

Another Alternative

A

-

41
Q

Another Alternative

A

-

42
Q

The Difference in Distress

M and R

A

Only part of the picture (and could be misleading):
But should not be discounted either.
Importance of Gove finding that employed women less distressed than non-employed women.

43
Q

The Difference in Distress

M and R

A

more distressed than employed men. Employment
helped, but not completely, even after controlling for
gender differences in pay and prestige.
role of husbands in domestic work and child
care: when husbands do more, women’s distress as low as
men’s.

44
Q

Couples, Work, and Distress

A

Type I
•Traditional
•Women more depressed
wife doesn’t work, husband does not want her to work + doesn’t do housework

45
Q

Couples, Work, and Distress

A

Type II
Traditional with Market Demands
Husband more depressed
she works against his will

46
Q

Couples, Work, and Distress

A

Type III
Transitional
Women still more depressed – men much less depressed
wife works, he prefers her to work, he doesn’t share housework

47
Q

Couples, Work, and Distress

A
Type IV
Modern
Least depressing for both genders
Smallest gap
works, wants her to work, husband shares housework
48
Q

Why is there a remaining

gap?

A

Pay equity still an issue
Proportional contribution to household income
Child care arrangements affect women more
The basic source of work-family conflict.

49
Q

Why is there a remaining

gap?

A

with good childcare - stable, good quality - working women as distressed as men
Remaining imbalance in the distribution of household
labour

50
Q

Work-Family Conflict

A

A useful quote from Mirowsky and Ross… (2003)
“Many wives are employed yet are solely or largely responsible for child care. That produces role strain: overload from the sheer amount of effort it takes to perform in both arenas, and conflict from meeting the expectations
of people who do not take each other into account (i.e., one’s boss and one’s children).”

51
Q

Work-Family Conflict

A

Paid employment outside the house generally improves women’s emotional well-being. Even so, many women face incompatibilities betw responsibilities as mothers and as employees because the institutional and family support necessary to fulfill both roles often does not exist.”
basis for a huge research agenda over the last two
decades.

52
Q

Work-Family Conflict

A

when women have husbands who help with child care and have easy access to child care in general – their distress is as low as their husband’s.
Finding suggests the social policy should focus on providing adequate child care
institutional support needs to catch up

53
Q

Response Bias Revisited

A

Differences in expressiveness:
Women do express emotions more
distress is more related to keeping emotions to oneself
Adjusting for gender differences in expressiveness results in a larger gender gap in distress.

54
Q

Response Bias Revisited

A

Differences in gendered views of undesirable traits.
Men find distress symptoms generally less undesirable than
women in more recent studies;
men have less reason to avoid distress
Distress difference remains

55
Q

Picture that Emerges

A

Depends on distress vs. disorder as distinguished by:
Average seriousness.
Content
Gender difference in distress – most kinds – but not
in disorder, where there is a trade-off.

56
Q

Picture that Emerges

A

Functionally equivalent responses does not mean
replacement – they can co-exist
relative emphasis and dominance in the two genders Gendered response theory makes sense, but….
Seems to argue with views of different levels of stress
in men’s and women’s lives, and/or differences in
access to coping with stress

57
Q

Marriage… and Family Structure

A

main finding from the 1960’s forward was that
gender differences in distress, anxiety, and depression
were found mainly among the married.

58
Q

Marriage… and Family Structure

A

diversification of gender roles after the industrial
revolution left women in an isolated, undervalued role.
marriage is a mental health benefit, does it work as well for women as for men?

59
Q

Impact of Marriage

A

Basic findings—
Longitudinal studies show improvements in mental
health for the same people over time.
No evidence the effect has weakened recently.
International evidence is consistent

60
Q

Impact of Marriage

A

But – these effects do not apply to everyone
n Age of marriage (later better)
n Homophily — social similarity of partners
n Age of children: as children age, mental health bounces back

61
Q

Selection Explanation

A

Two issues –
n Mental healthy more likely to marry and stay married ?
n Factors associated with the choice to marry also related
to mental health in the long run (commitment,
consistency,…?)

62
Q

Selection Explanation

A

longitudinal, can account for effect of prior mental health
on tendency to marry, or effect of personal characteristics that determine marriage marketability and mental health.

63
Q

Longitudinal Results from the NSFH

A

Controlling for all stable individual differences prior to marriage….
n Effects on depression…

64
Q

Longitudinal Results from the NSFH

A

Value of marriage + cohabitation supported
gain-loss controversy: whether gains + losses matched. Here they are – contradicts marital crisis model saying only loss counts

65
Q

Benefits of Marriage

A

institutionalized and constant confidant
Social support
indicator of social competence (stability, trust, commitment, maturity, openness, ability to give).
Pooling of economic resources.

66
Q

Benefits of Marriage

A

Social integration / social capital / networks
Commitment, trust, purpose in life have mental
health benefits
Relationship quality

67
Q

Benefits of Marriage

A

Building a long-term project – common fate,
shared fate.
Effects of divorce reflect the loss of something that valued — stable connectedness.

68
Q

Benefits of Marriage

A

-

69
Q

Marital Loss

A

divorce hurts…but…

Not universally.

70
Q

Marital Loss

A

n Wheaton (1990) – the “more stress is stress relief” model: divorce can be escape from a
chronically stressful situation – Divorce is the
resolution.

71
Q

Marital Loss

A

-

72
Q

Effects of Divorce by State of Prior Marriage

A

Effect of divorce on distress 2+ years later depends on the
level of prior marital problems…
we need context or we have no effect
average is no effect.

73
Q

Effects of Divorce by State of Prior Marriage

A

low marital problems: liked marriage 4 years ago
divorce led to standard effect of divorce 2 years later
high marital problems: less stress 2 years after divorce because they escaped problematic marriage
spouses don’t agree on levels of problems

74
Q

Effects of Divorce by State of Prior Marriage

A

-

75
Q

Widowhood

A

Negative effect, but returns to previous levels
within a year or two – on average.
not universal, and some have little to no grief – even relief. Others may suffer severely..
Wide variety of reactions the norm here as
well.

76
Q

Role of Gender

A

intersection of gender and marriage a major
focus of attention over the last half century,
n Bernard (1972) – Two marriages – “his” and “hers”, hers one of service, his one of
achievement

77
Q

Role of Gender

A

The early evidence on the gender-specific effect

of marriage followed a pattern…

78
Q

Role of Gender

A

-

79
Q

Two Approaches:

Sequential Contrasts vs. Differential Gain

A

Sequential approach:
n Compare mental health of single men and women –
women better off or equal.
n Compare mental health of married men and women –
women usually worse off.
n Doesn’t measure change due to marital transition.

80
Q

Two Approaches:

Sequential Contrasts vs. Differential Gain

A

Differential Gain (difference of a difference):
n (Married Men – Single Men) – (Married Women –
Single Women).
n Same people before and after (longitudinal)
n Results not as clear about a gender difference overall.

81
Q

New Evidence : Simon (2002)

A

Sex role theory…. A theory focused on restricted access to
public roles.
Feminist theory focused on the resulting opposite
problem: too much to do and too little reward or support.
Structural subordination is systemic across roles.

82
Q

New Evidence : Simon (2002)

A

-

83
Q

New Evidence : Simon (2002)

A

-

84
Q

New Evidence : Simon (2002)

A

Arguments about burden, about demands across
roles, about restriction of choice, are arguments about stress.
n NOTE: Both designed to explain worse mental
health among women

85
Q

Simon’s Review

A

Cross-sectional data confounds marital selection and
causation. So findings in those studies in question.
Marriage is beneficial to mental health of both men and
women.
Women report more “common” problems of distress
than men in both married and unmarried roles.
n Most research focused on affective outcomes
(internalizing) and not male-dominant outcomes

86
Q

Contributions

A

Longitudinal deals with selection…
n Balanced consideration of male and female
outcomes.
n Correct comparison groups (e.g., stably
unmarried)

87
Q

Contributions

A

-

88
Q

Differences by Stable Marital Status Differences

A

Nonmarried more depressed, more alcohol abuse
No differences by gender for depression, but..
Important differences for alcohol

89
Q

One Implication…

A

Men have more alcohol problems outside of
marriage than women.
Women already low in alcohol consumption outside of
marriage, so reductions less possible.

90
Q

One Implication…

A

One possibility that marriage reduces
drinking more among men, but equal benefits
to reductions in depression.

91
Q

Marital Transitions: Divorce

A

Women suffer more…
Means the loss is relatively greater.
Effect on drinking same across gender

92
Q

Marital Transitions: Divorce

A

-

93
Q

Marital Transitions: Marriage

A

Essential Finding — No difference in effect of marriage
on reducing depression by gender
Some support men benefit from remarriage in
terms of reduced drinking

94
Q

Overall…

A

n Scattered and specific evidence of gender
differential effects of marital gains or marital
losses:
n Divorce affects women’s depression more
n Entering a second or later marriage reduces men’s drinking more.

95
Q

Overall…

A

Marital gains into first marriage has common effects across
gender.
n How can this be explained?

96
Q

Overall…

A

-

97
Q

Newer Evidence for Depression:

Three Waves of the NSFH up to 2003

A

Equal effects of entry into marriage and cohabitation
• No difference in the effect of marriage vs. cohabitation
• Larger effects of divorce on women – same as Simon.